Fungal infections in HIV/AIDS.
Abstract
Fungi are major contributors to the opportunistic infections that affect patients
with HIV/AIDS. Systemic infections are mainly with Pneumocystis jirovecii (pneumocystosis),
Cryptococcus neoformans (cryptococcosis), Histoplasma capsulatum (histoplasmosis),
and Talaromyces (Penicillium) marneffei (talaromycosis). The incidence of systemic
fungal infections has decreased in people with HIV in high-income countries because
of the widespread availability of antiretroviral drugs and early testing for HIV.
However, in many areas with high HIV prevalence, patients present to care with advanced
HIV infection and with a low CD4 cell count or re-present with persistent low CD4
cell counts because of poor adherence, resistance to antiretroviral drugs, or both.
Affordable, rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests (as have been developed for cryptococcosis)
are urgently needed for pneumocystosis, talaromycosis, and histoplasmosis. Additionally,
antifungal drugs, including amphotericin B, liposomal amphotericin B, and flucytosine,
need to be much more widely available. Such measures, together with continued international
efforts in education and training in the management of fungal disease, have the potential
to improve patient outcomes substantially.
Type
Journal articleSubject
AIDS-Related Opportunistic InfectionsAntifungal Agents
Diagnostic Tests, Routine
Fungi
HIV Infections
Humans
Incidence
Mycoses
Point-of-Care Systems
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/16183Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1016/S1473-3099(17)30303-1Publication Info
Limper, Andrew H; Adenis, Antoine; Le, Thuy; & Harrison, Thomas S (2017). Fungal infections in HIV/AIDS. Lancet Infect Dis, 17(11). pp. e334-e343. 10.1016/S1473-3099(17)30303-1. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/16183.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Thuy Le
Associate Professor of Medicine

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